title: Transcriptional regulation of gene expression in C. elegans.
abstract: Protein coding gene sequences are converted to mRNA by the highly regulated process of transcription. The precise temporal and spatial control of transcription for many genes is an essential part of development in metazoans. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying transcriptional control is essential to understanding cell fate determination during embryogenesis, post-embryonic development, many environmental interactions, and disease-related processes. Studies of transcriptional regulation in C. elegans exploit its genomic simplicity and physical characteristics to define regulatory events with single-cell and minute-time-scale resolution. When combined with the genetics of the system, C. elegans offers a unique and powerful vantage point from which to study how chromatin-associated proteins and their modifications interact with transcription factors and their binding sites to yield precise control of gene expression through transcriptional regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. valerie.reinke@yale.edu
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Reinke
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Okkema
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012319:RNA Polymerase II